Eisenhower Memorial Moving Forward

After the design received final approval by the National Capital Planning Commission earlier this week, a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for the long-planned Eisenhower Memorial on November 2. The Frank Gehry-designed memorial for the 34th president will be located on a four-acre site across from the National Air & Space Museum on Independence Avenue and 4th Street. The memorial will feature metal tapestries that will depict scenes from President Eisenhower’s life. They will also serve as a screen to block the view of the Department of Education headquarters building adjacent to the memorial site. Bronze statues depicting Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and as president are also featured. 

Part of the memorial site used to contain a community garden, which will be removed in order to build the project. Construction is expected to last 30 months, which will allow the memorial to debut in time for the 75th anniversary of V Day on May 8, 2020. 

Renderings courtesy of Eisenhower Memorial Commission

Compromise Reached in Eisenhower Memorial Design

Plans for the Eisenhower Memorial will move forward now that the Eisenhower family has expressed their support for the Frank Gehry-designed memorial, to be located on Maryland Avenue between 4th and 6th streets. The project has been delayed since there were disagreements about the design for Eisenhower Square, a four-acre park where the memorial will be located, which includes metal tapestries and bronze statues depicting Eisenhower during his military days as Supreme Allied Commander and as president. Modifications to the memorial include a representation of the D-Day landings in Normandy on the tapestries and a renewed focus on Eisenhower’s home state of Kansas, incorporating one of his famous quotes, “The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.” 

Fundraising is underway for the memorial with the goal of dedicating it on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2019. 

Rendering courtesy of Eisenhower Memorial Commission

A Stroll Down 4th Street

View 4th Street Development in a larger map

There is a lot of construction activity either underway or planned along 4th Street with something going on at almost every block from the National Mall to N Street. Above is a map of construction projects along the corridor with a summary of each project listed below from north to south.

Going south on 4th from the National Mall, the first project that comes up is the reseeding of the lawn on a section of the Mall stretching from 7th Street to 3rd Street. 

After crossing Independence Avenue, the west side of the street in front of the Department of Education will be transformed into a memorial to President Eisenhower. The memorial will take up the rectangle bordered by 6th Street to the west, Independence Avenue to the north, 4th Street to the east, and the Department of Education headquarters to the south. There’s been a lot of controversy over the memorial’s design, done by famed architect Frank Gehry.

Image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP

On the next block between C Street and D Street, renovations continue at the Mary E. Switzer federal building. Interior work is being done, along with the creation of green space along C Street that will replace the surface parking lot that once was there.

At the northwest corner of 4th & E Streets, the new Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) is nearing completion.  I took a tour of the building last fall (unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside) which will include a forensic lab, MPD test firing range, and the coroner’s office.  Interior build-out is underway.

On the southwest corner of the intersection, a new office building with the address 400 E Street will replace the parking lot, and a new Engine 13 firehouse will be on the ground floor on the 4th Street side. In addition, there will be space on the E Street side for DC Central Kitchen and KidPower. A sign on the lot says the building will deliver in the 4th Quarter of 2013, but I don’t see that deadline being met since a major tenant hasn’t been lined up yet for the office building and construction has not begun.

Rendering courtesy of WDG Architecture

On 4th Street from School Street to I Street, a bike lane has been created on either side of the street.  The bike lanes were supposed to be installed a couple years ago shortly after the I Street to M Street segment was done, but better late than never I guess.

Potomac Place Tower, the condo conversion by Monument Realty at 800 4th Street has sold over 80% of its 396 units and is the largest condo project currently selling in the city.

The northeast and northwest parcels of Waterfront Station are currently slated for residential.  Construction on the northwest parcel may begin in 2014 once Sky House Apartments are completed a couple blocks south. The District owns the northeast parcel and the timetable for issuing a RFP has not been determined yet.

Construction at Sky House I Apartments began in February, the conversion of the former EPA towers at Waterfront Station by Urban Atlantic and the JBG Companies. Upon completion, both buildings will contain 530 apartments with 20% set aside as affordable housing for households earning up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI).

The two vacant lots (well, one of those lots has a Bank of America trailer) at Waterfront Station fronting M Street are slated for office buildings.  No timetable has been set yet for construction.  

Tiber Island is planning to redo the stark, wind-swept plaza area that connects the four towers at the complex with a new oval-shaped fountain, seating, a pergola, and plantings.

 Rendering courtesy of SmithGroup

A Few Quick Items: CFA Meeting on L'Enfant Plaza Design, GSA Looking for Deals in SW, Another Critic of Eisenhower Memorial Design

The Commission of Fine Arts will be considering the concept designs today of one of the proposed office buildings and the glass entryway to the retail pavilion planned at L'Enfant Plaza.  The proposed office building will be located along Frontage Road and 9th Street while the glass entryway will be in the plaza. These buildings are only a few of the changes planned for L'Enfant Plaza.  More information on the renovation can be found here.

Rendering courtesy of SmithGroup

In this week's Capital Business, there was a snippet about Southwest in an article about the GSA's pending deal with Donald Trump to redevelop the Old Post Office as a luxury hotel.  From the article:

[Commissioner of the GSA's Public Buildings Service Robert] Peck said further development may come in available space on the south side of the National Mall. He said he is working with the National Capital Planning Commission to "create some building sites" there.

Perhaps he's referring to the four GSA parcels along the Maryland Avenue corridor as recommended in the Maryland Avenue Small Area Plan Draft?  What about the Department of Energy's Forrestal Complex?

Illustration courtesy of the Office of Planning

Another critique of Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial design, this time from architect and urban planner Leon Krier in Metropolis Magazine.  Krier has several qualms with the design and process, organizing his critique with the following sub-headlines: Provocation Engendering Protest, Cost of Competition, Cost of Monument, Meaning of the Monuments, Size of the Monument, Character of Context, and Style of Architecture.  From the article: 

Vocally critical, even disgusted by modernist art and architecture, if Eisenhower was apparently upset about the Air Force Academy Chapel by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, how distraught must he have been with the brave new world taking command over the Southwest quadrant. Yet that is precisely the architectural context the Memorial Commission elects as location and Mr. Gehry respects and emulates in scale, style, proportion and character: a straight, undiluted old fashioned modernism.  In my opinion his expressionist design formulae would yet effect a welcome respite from the debilitating boredom of the area.

The memorial will be located in front of the Department of Education headquarters at Independence Avenue between 6th Street and 4th Street. Maryland Avenue runs through the site.

A Few Quick Items: MD Ave Comment Period Deadline Approaches, Gehry's Design for Eisenhower Memorial Defended, Stairway Collapse, Arena's RED Gets Rave Reviews

- This is the last week for public comment on the Draft Maryland Avenue SW Plan by the DC Office of Planning. I wrote a summary of the draft plan back in December if you'd prefer to read that instead of the full plan. In addition, there will be a mayoral hearing on February 1st at 6:30pm at 1100 4th Street (2nd floor meeting room) to receive testimony on the plan. 

- The Capital Comment Blog at Washingtonian Magazine interviewed Daniel J. Feil, executive architect of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, who defended the Gehry design of the planned memorial to President Eisenhower in response to a recent interview by the same blog of Eisenhower's granddaughter (Susan Eisenhower), who was critical of the design.  The proposed memorial will be located across the street from the National Air & Space Museum, bounded by Independence Avenue to the north, 4th Street to the east, the Department of Education headquarters to the south, and 6th Street to the west.  The memorial commission will go before the National Capital Planning Commission on March 1 to get preliminary design approval and hopes to have construction underway by the end of the year.

- NBC4 reports that there was a stairwell collapse this evening at an apartment building on the 4300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Bellevue. According to the news story, a delivery person was carrying a large piece of furniture when the stairway gave way. The delivery person sustained serious injuries and was taken to Howard University hospital.

- Arena Stage's RED receives 3 1/2 out of 4 stars from the After Hours Blog at Washingtonian Magazine.  From the review:

It’s a testament to the skills of director Robert Falls that he achieves the seemingly impossible in, currently playing at Arena Stage—he makes spellbinding theater out of watching paint dry. ...To say that art, and one man’s tricky, impenetrable understanding of it, is at the heart of which is co-presented by Arena Stage and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and arrives here after a well-received Chicago run is an understatement. John Logan’s Tony-winning 2009 play is a fascinating look at the dogmatic, unyielding vision of Rothko, whose paintings (presumably to his chagrin) adorn the walls of endless college dorm rooms and major art galleries alike...For such a short (100 minutes) and focused play, Red manages to cover a surprising number of bases. Rothko’s relationship with Ken, a fictional character invented by Logan to explore the artist’s character, is initially one-sided, but as the play shifts towards its inevitable, almost Oedipal conclusion, Ken’s character takes on a new grittiness, reflecting his mentor. At the play’s start, Andrews is all two-dimensional Richie Cunningham earnestness and Converse sneakers, but as Ken’s tragic past unfolds, the character takes on a new steeliness, with Andrews resisting the temptation to make Ken just a foil for Rothko’s grim self-absorption.

RED will run at Arena Stage until March 11.

Photo courtesy of Arena Stage (by Liz Lauren)

Maryland Avenue Small Area Plan Draft Released

The DC Office of Planning released its draft report on the Maryland Avenue SW Plan earlier this month after working on it for several months. This report is a component of the Southwest Ecodistrict Initiative that the National Capital Planning Commission is studying for the area. In the Maryland Avenue SW draft report, there are recommendations on how the avenue can be reconstructed, diversify land uses, and serve as a connector through the Southwest Rectangle (the area between the National Mall and Interstate 395). Currently, the Maryland Avenue corridor is disjointed – a small section of the avenue was rebuilt above railroad tracks west of 12th Street as a part of The Portals complex with a landscaped median and on its eastern end, it will bisect a future memorial for President Eisenhower. However, Maryland Avenue doesn’t exist between 12th Street and 7th Street. Along this stretch, railroad tracks for freight and VRE are in the avenue’s right-of-way. East of Reservation 113 (the green space at 7th & C Streets), Maryland Avenue reemerges before intersecting with Independence Avenue across from the National Air & Space Museum.  

Four components that the draft report addresses include land use, transit, connections, and public realm:

Land use

The draft report encourages a diversification of land uses for the corridor, which is currently dominated by office space. To that end, there are four Federally-owned parcels along Maryland Avenue that the GSA is considering for conveyance out of the Federal inventory. These parcels could then be redeveloped as mixed use sites, potentially with residential included in the mix. Zoning in the area can be changed to encourage residential development with Housing Credits, similar to the bonus density incentives used to increase housing downtown over the past 15 years. Other parcels along the Maryland Avenue corridor could also be redeveloped, including the GSA Regional Office Building at 7th & D Street, the Reporters Building (where Pizza Autentica is located), and two sites at The Portals (perhaps one could be luxury condos affiliated with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel next door with sweeping views of the Tidal Basin?). The draft report indicates at least 1,000 residential/hotel units need to be created in the area to justify the creation of more retail amenities.

Transit

Connections between the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station and the L’Enfant commuter rail station should be improved.  According to the draft report, about 20,000 riders use the Metro station each weekday and over 15,000 VRE riders use the commuter rail station. Future ridership estimates anticipate an increase over the next few years and the commuter rail station may need to expand to accommodate a possible extension of MARC train service to L’Enfant as well as the electrification of the rail line. After looking at three options to expand the commuter rail station, the report recommends the best option would be to build an extended platform in the vicinity of the current platform to accommodate four tracks and bi-level trains.  The Reporters Building would eventually become an intermodal hub where VRE, MARC, Metro, Metrobus, and streetcar service would intersect.

Connections

Three alternatives were considered for decking over Maryland Avenue: one creates a boulevard with a landscaped median along its length and a newly constructed 9th Street would connect Independence Avenue, Maryland Avenue, and D Street; a second would create a center roadway section from 12th to 10th Street with a ramp connection to D Street, while the area between 10th Street and Reservation 113 would become a linear park; option three would create a center roadway from 12th Street to Reservation 113 and create a square around it by shifting the railroad corridor to the south. The report prefers a center roadway section to a median because of its consistency along the centerline of Maryland Avenue, but also allows flexibility along the edges depending on what structure abuts the right-of-way. The approximate cost to re-establish Maryland Avenue would be $429M, including streetscape, railroad enclosure, commuter rail station improvements, connections to the street grid, and four-track railroad enhancements.

Public Realm

Reservation 113 has the potential – if designed properly, to be a center piece for the neighborhood. Views to the Capitol should be maintained and Maryland Avenue’s significance as a L’Enfant diagonal street should be considered in its design; however, pedestrian-scale elements need to be considered as well. The tree canopy of the area needs to be enhanced and sidewalks designed for heavy pedestrian use. New buildings along the corridor should be oriented towards Maryland Avenue and Reservation 113 with the building facades meeting the edge of the right-of-way to create a defined street wall effect. Retail nodes should be created at 7th and 10th Streets with ceiling heights along the ground floor at these locations at a minimum of 14’. Sustainable infrastructure elements should be maintained throughout the corridor, including storm water filtration and collection, and piezoelectric generation along the rail corridor.

Development along the Maryland Avenue corridor can begin in the eastern end between 6th & 7th Streets, where the avenue already exists and improvements would take less time (and money) to implement. The Switzer Building modernization and greening, along with Federal Building 8, is breathing new life to the area. GSA Parcel 4 is located between 6th & 7th Streets and if conveyed, the parcel could be redeveloped into a use other than office to help change the perception of the area as an “office-only” destination. In addition, some improvements can be made to Reservation 113 to make the area more inviting. As the Southwest Waterfront redevelopment gets going and the future of the Department of Energy campus is determined, that will help spur activity on the western side of the Maryland Avenue corridor.

The full report can be accessed from OP’s website and the 30-day comment period is now open until February 3. 

Renderings courtesy of DC Office of Planning

Recap of Maryland Avenue Plan Public Meeting

The Office of Planning held a public meeting on July 14th to go over their draft recommendations for the Maryland Avenue corridor from 12th Street to 4th Street. The western boundary of the study area abuts the Portals, where Maryland Avenue is a rebuilt, landscaped road on a deck atop railroad tracks. On the east side between 4th and 6th Street, there are plans underway to build a memorial to President Eisenhower called Eisenhower Square.



The Maryland Avenue corridor is envisioned as a park-like setting.



The results of a survey conducted by OP found that respondents thought the Maryland Avenue corridor needs parks and open spaces the most, as well as improved building facades. Basically, OP recommends (with the help of their consultants at AECOM) that Maryland Avenue should be decked from 12th Street to Reservation 113 (AKA Hancock Park, or the green space formed at what would be the intersection of Maryland Avenue, Virginia Avenue, 7th Street and 9th Street) as well as 9th Street from Independence Avenue to D Street. The roadway along Maryland Avenue would run in the middle of the 160' right-of-way with one lane in either direction and wide park-like open space on both sides to accommodate pedestrians. Limited on-street parking would be accommodated. Stormwater can be collected and filtered from deep tree wells along the avenue and sent to infiltration zones beneath the street. 

Two passenger tracks each for passenger and freight rail are planned below a decked Maryland Avenue.

In addition to stormwater connection, there would be space beneath Maryland Avenue for a four-track railroad system with two tracks for passenger rail and two tracks for freight rail, which would improve rail access in the corridor. As a part of the sustainability aspect of the plan, a piezoelectric generation pilot study along the railroad tracks could show that electricity can be generated as trains pass by, which then can be used to power street lights and other amenities along Maryland Avenue. Improvements are envisioned for Reservation 113 to connect pedestrians with an expanded L'Enfant Station, that would serve VRE, MARC, AMTRAK, Metrorail, Metro Bus, and streetcars.

At least four GSA parcels are ripe for infill development.

There are four potential infill sites along the avenue that are owned by the GSA. They are located at the northeast corner of 12th & D Street, the northwest corner of Maryland Avenue & 10th Street, the northeast corner of Maryland Avenue & 10th Street, and the northeast corner of Maryland Avenue & 7th Street. There are also opportunities to redevelop the GSA building along D Street that faces Reservation 113 and The Reporters Building at 7th & D Street (where Pizza Autentica is located). OP and AECOM recommend that any new development in the corridor should be oriented toward Maryland Avenue to help frame and define public spaces and the historic right-of-way (whether or not the decked roadway has been constructed at the time the buildings are completed).

Proposed zoning changes would encourage a mix of uses, including residential, cultural, hotel, retail, and office, in order to make the corridor (and the SW Ecodistrict as a whole) an extension of downtown. For instance, retail nodes are suggested at the intersection of Maryland Avenue & 10th Street and at L'Enfant Station. Residential and hotel uses are also possible along Maryland Avenue - the SW Ecodistrict plan calls for at least 1,000 residential/hotel rooms to make the area a viable neighborhood, which the Maryland Avenue corridor can help accommodate. Also, a cultural/commemorative destination is envisioned for the southwest corner of Maryland Avenue & 10th Street.

Improvements along Maryland Avenue would begin with the block from 6th Street to 7th Street, since this section already exists and is at-grade.  The elevated sections would be done later as financing becomes available (perhaps a public-private partnership or CSX?).

More details on the Maryland Avenue Plan can be found here. The comment period on the draft recommendations will be open until Friday, so contact Joyce Tsepas at the Office of Planning by email or by phone (202-535-1556).

Renderings courtesy of the Office of Planning

Eisenhower Memorial Concepts Go Before NCPC

Earlier this month, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) met to discuss the latest plans for the Eisenhower Memorial, which is slated for a four-acre rectangular site across the street from the National Air & Space Museum along Independence Avenue between 4th Street and 6th Street. The memorial is being designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, which will be his first design that may actually get built in DC (several years ago, he designed an addition to the Corcoran which never got built due to lack of funding). There are three concepts for the memorial with the third option being the preferred design of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission. This alternative, called the Maryland Park concept, calls for Maryland Avenue to be realigned with the axis of the Capitol building but be closed to vehicular traffic; stone block sculptures with quotes from President Eisenhower surrounding a central grove of sycamore trees; and large woven stainless steel tapestries with scenery from Eisenhower's home town of Abilene, Kansas. The largest tapestry, at 550 feet, would essentially block the view of the U.S. Department of Education headquarters for visitors to the memorial, a building not universally loved for its 1960's architecture. Behind the large tapestry between it and the Department of Education building will be a 50-foot wide promenade, called the LBJ Promenade, which will have benches and landscaping and will serve as an access point to the memorial.

When the NCPC met, there was some concern about the design. In reviewing the memorial plans, the NCPC was using seven design principles created in 2006 to guide the site approval process. Those design principles, from the NCPC's Commission Action, are as follows:

1. Preserve reciprocal views to and from the U.S. Capitol along Maryland Avenue, SW.

2. Enhance the nature of the site as one in a sequence of public spaces embellishing the Maryland Avenue vista.

3. Create a unified memorial site that integrates the disparate parcels into a meaningful and functional public gathering place that also unifies the surrounding precinct.

4. Reflect L’Enfant Plan principles by shaping the memorial site as a separate and distinct public space that complements the Department of Education Headquarters and other surrounding buildings.

5. Respect and complement the architecture of the surrounding precinct.

6. Respect the building lines of the surrounding rights-of-way and the alignment of trees along Maryland Avenue.

7. Incorporate significant green space into the design of the memorial.

According to the NCPC, only design principles #2 and #7 are incorporated in the plans for the Maryland Park option, which means Gehry has a lot of work to do before the NCPC will give site approval.

Images courtesy of the National Capital Planning Commission.

Maryland Avenue Study Planned

As a part of the Southwest Ecodistrict initiative underway by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), The DC Office of Planning will undertake a study of the Maryland Avenue corridor, as reported in the Examiner. The section of the corridor to be studied stretches from 12th Street to 6th Street. Maryland Avenue is currently disjointed, with a landscaped segment west of 12th Street at the Portals development (pictured above), but abruptly ends east of 12th Street with the CSX train tracks and picks up again east of the L'Enfant VRE station at 7th Street. On the other end of the corridor is the site of the future Eisenhower Memorial. The goal of the study is to reconnect Maryland Avenue and create a mixed use corridor. Here's a link to a video provided by NCPC on the current state of Maryland Avenue.

Update: Here's a link to a live chat done on Wednesday by the Housing Complex blog about plans for the Southwest Ecodistrict. Here's a reminder that the NCPC will be hosting a public meeting about the Ecodistrict on Thursday from 6-8pm at the Whitten Building, located at 1400 Independence Avenue.

A Couple Quick Items: Constitution Center Leasing, Eisenhower Square Update

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced yesterday that it will be consolidating its three office locations in NW in order to move to Constitution Center, which is quickly becoming the Federal Government’s version of Wall Street since the SEC, the OCC, and now FHFA will occupy space at the secure campus. By the way, FHFA regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. According to the press release, FHFA employees are scheduled to start moving in November. There’s no word yet on how much space they will be occupying at Constitution Center or how many employees will be moving. However, I would imagine that the office building is now pretty close to fully leased with this signing.

Update: Here's some additional information about the FHFA lease via the WBJ. The FHFA will lease 335,000 square feet at Constitution Center and over 550 people will be moving to the office complex. Although there is some secrecy behind the lease signings, the WBJ calculates that up to 115,000 SF is left to lease in the 1.4 million SF complex.

DCMud gives an update on plans for Eisenhower Square, the memorial planned for President Eisenhower across from the U.S. Department of Education headquarters. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will be reviewing three refined alternatives for the memorial, designed by Frank Gehry at their monthly meeting on Thursday. The alternative favored by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission is the one with limestone columns on either side of a large metal woven tapestry blocking the Department of Education building from view and has a grove of sycamore trees in the center. According to The Washington Post, Gehry stated that the large tapestry may show an image of Abilene, Kansas, Eisenhower's boyhood home.

Above is a rendering of an earlier version of the preferred vision for Eisenhower Square, courtesy of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.

Presentation This Thursday on Eisenhower Square

The National Capital Planning Commission will be holding their June meeting on Thursday and one of the items on the agenda, as reported by DCMud, is a presentation by Gehry Partners on Eisenhower Square, the memorial planned for President Eisenhower just south of the National Air & Space Museum between 4th Street and 6th Street. The four-acre memorial will close off Maryland Avenue, but sight lines to the Capitol will be maintained. Also on the agenda is the new Metrobus facility planned at DC Village.

Local Effort to Build Children's Playground at Waterfront Station

At tonight's ANC 6D meeting, four moms of young children spoke in favor of building a community playground on the northeast parcel of Waterfront Station that the District government owns. Their argument is a community playground is needed in a centrally located area of Southwest because the community doesn't have a publicly accessible playground and they have to go to Capitol Hill or other parts of the city or Northern Virginia to find one for their children to use. The women want to work with KaBOOM, a non-profit organization that helps build playgrounds and will solicit financing from the District. They will also do fundraisers to fill in any gaps in financing. In addition, Camille Cook, another local resident, expressed her desire for a community garden to be included in this proposed playground, since a garden in front of the Department of Education headquarters will be removed to make way for Eisenhower Square.

Currently, the parcel in question is vacant and is slated for a residential development once economic conditions improve (see above). I think they have a valid argument for a children's playground and garden. However, I disagree with their choice of location. At this same ANC meeting, At-Large DC Council member Phil Mendelson told the commissioners that the District is running out of money and is near its borrowing limit. The District-owned Waterfront Station parcel is too valuable to be used as a playground. Instead, the District should issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Waterfront Station parcel and require a mixed-use development, including a new library. Proceeds from the RFP can then be used to knock down the old library across the street and build a playground/community garden in its place. The playground/community garden would be built later under this approach, but the community can get a new library and centrally-located playground without using taxpayer dollars. Plus, the playground/community garden would mirror Town Center Park on the other side of Waterfront Station.

Update: Vote in April's poll on what the District should do with the vacant NE parcel at Waterfront Station and/or leave a comment.

Design Concept Selected for Eisenhower Square

The Washington Post reports that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission met today to select a design concept for Eisenhower Square, the name of the memorial planned across from the National Air & Space Museum for President Eisenhower. The article gives a brief description of the selected design concept:

The commission chose the most elaborate of the designs, with a central grove and columns on the north and south sides, plus a "tapestry" of woven stainless steel mesh.

Back in January, the Commission selected Gilbane Building Company to oversee the design and construction of the memorial, which will be designed by famed LA architect Frank Gehry. The Commission will present their selection to the National Capital Planning Commission at their next meeting on April 1. Hopefully I can get a rendering of the design concept soon to include with this post.

Update: The Post has another article about the memorial that includes a rendering and gives more details about the plans. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Instead, Gehry has proposed closing off a newly defined square defined by the intersection of Independence and Maryland avenues and Fourth and Sixth streets SW. The north and south sides of "Eisenhower Square" will be [lined] by huge limestone columns, the interior filled with a grove of large oaks and a semicircular space made of a rough assemblage of monolithic stone blocks. There will also be carvings and inscriptions and a service building. But the most intriguing and potentially most problematic element of the design are three huge tapestries, made of woven metal. Preliminary models show one tapestry running along almost the full height and length of the north face of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. That could limit light and affect sightlines for workers who once had views to the Mall. Gehry, who attended the commission's Capitol Hill news conference, said that the tapestry would be translucent and that it will stand 90 to 100 feet away from the Education Department building, which is essentially the width of a city street.

The memorial will close off Maryland Avenue, but sightlines to the Capitol will be maintained.

Update #2: Above is a rendering of the proposed memorial, from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.

Update #3: DCist and Greater Greater Washington have posts about the memorial, along with more renderings.

Construction Manager Selected for Eisenhower Square

According to an article in the Washington Business Journal, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has chosen Gilbane Building Company to oversee the design and construction management of Eisenhower Square, the memorial dedicated to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Back in March, Frank Gehry was chosen to design the memorial, which will be a four-acre site located across from the National Air & Space Museum and the Department of Education headquarters at 4th Street & Independence Avenue. Construction of Eisenhower Square will require the closure of Maryland Avenue, which bisects the site, but the view shed towards the Capitol Building will need to be maintained. It will cost anywhere from $90 million to $110 million to build the memorial and it should be complete by 2014.

(The rendering of the memorial site is from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission website)

Week in Review

Here's a recap of the week's events...

- Cherry Blossom Festival Begins. On a rainy Saturday, the National Cherry Blossom Festival began with several activities around the city, and earlier this week, the blossoms began their peak blooming period. The festival will continue through Sunday, April 12th, with local events, including the dedication of the SW Call Boxes and the Fireworks Show, both of which will occur on April 11th. (The above photo is one of the cherry blossom-themed call boxes along M Street, before the artwork has been installed)

- SEU President Resigns. While I was on vacation, a letter was in my inbox from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Southeastern University, stating that SEU President Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis was resigning from her post as of March 31, 2009. In her place, Dr. Elaine Ryan was appointed interim President, previously serving as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. SEU is facing accreditation problems and is looking to merge with the GS Graduate School. See my post from last month for more background on the merger talks. On my flight to California, I ended up sitting next to one of the former deans at Southeastern and we started chatting about SEU's current situation and development trends in Southwest. It's a small world indeed!

- Frank Gehry chosen to design Eisenhower Memorial...No Joke! The Washington Business Journal reported on Wednesday that the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has chosen famed LA-based architect Frank Gehry to design a memorial dedicated to President Eisenhower, located across from the Air & Space Museum and the Department of Education headquarters at 4th Street & Independence Avenue. This is Gehry's second chance to design a structure in DC - the first time he was tapped to design an addition to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, but the gallery had financing issues, so it was never built. See my post from January about this topic.

Obamas Make the Rounds in Southwest

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have been making their way around federal agencies this week. So far, they have been to at least three agencies headquartered in Southwest. According to The Caucus Blog, the First Lady is making a point to visit all of the federal agencies over the next few weeks. Her first stop on Monday was the Department of Education, which is located just south of the future Eisenhower Square memorial. On Wednesday, she visited HUD headquarters on 7th Street. Yesterday, the President was at the Department of Energy, which is located south of the Smithsonian Castle near L'Enfant Plaza.

Finalists Chosen for Eisenhower Memorial

The Washington Business Journal (subscribers only) reports that four finalists have been chosen by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and the GSA to design the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Memorial, to be located just south of the Air & Space Museum between 4th Street & 6th Street. Independence Avenue forms the northern boundary of the memorial site. The four finalists are the following: Gehry Partners from LA, Peter Walker & Partners Landscape Architecture from Berkeley, CA, Rogers Marvel Architects from New York, and Krueck + Sexton from Chicago. A finalist will be chosen in March to design the memorial, which will span four acres and is called Eisenhower Square. Construction of Eisenhower Square will require the closure of Maryland Avenue, which bisects the site, but the view shed towards the Capitol Building will need to be maintained. It will cost anywhere from $90 million to $110 million to build the memorial and it should be complete by 2014. The site of the memorial seems appropriate, since President Eisenhower was responsible for the creation of NASA, the FAA, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health & Human Services, whose headquarters buildings are located either adjacent to the memorial site or in close proximity.

(The rendering of the memorial site is from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission website)